The Ebonics in DEAD LINKS is Gone

When I wrote my thriller Dead Links, I made two conscious choices. I wanted the heroine to be a female African-American, and I wanted her to speak in Ebonics. I wrote earlier about why I chose to use Ebonics, but the gist of it is that I wanted to show how a black woman can be intelligent and still speak in Ebonics. I actually based her dialogue on a friend of mine who's very bright and educated, but grew up in the ghetto, so she's kept those speech patterns. Some people judge her because of that and I think it's unfair. We should judge people by what they say, not how they say it.

Unfortunately, I've discovered most readers haven't seen it that way. They seem to find the Ebonics annoying and unrealistic. After getting three negative reviews based solely on the dialogue (one specifically on the use of the word "ain't"), I've decided the dialogue distracts too much from the reading experience. I've re-written Amanda's dialogue to remove much of the Ebonics, while still keeping her vocal style.

If the dialogue has been keeping you from enjoying Dead Links, now's the time to try it again.

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Sample Sunday: "Dead Links"

This week's sample is from my thriller, Dead Links.

The two of them headed for one of the exits leading out to the parking lot. Through the glass doors, she could see that the sun had fallen until only a very dim light reflected off the cars parked outside. As Bishop reached the doors, lights flickered on to cast a yellow sphere of light onto the sidewalk out front. The doors chimed softly and mumbled as they slid open from Bishop's approach. The clamor of the outside rushed in, along with the sound of a truck's engine growing louder.

Bishop reached the open doors, but stumbled as he came to a sudden halt in the doorway. He whirled around towards Amanda again. His sunglasses had come off at some point in the chase, and his swollen eyes turned on her as he yelled, "Run!"

A black truck hurtled out of the darkness of the parking lot towards the mall, roaring like a lion. It headed away from them, but then its tires shrieked as it spun to face the entrance. The truck's headlights burned like the eyes of a cat, and blinded Amanda as they aimed straight for her.

Amanda couldn't see through the red haze left in her eyes by the light, but felt Bishop's hands clutch hers and pull her away from the exit. Her sight cleared to see the doors slide open, but not quickly enough for the truck that plowed into them. The impact made the entire wall explode. Showers of glass burst out of the frames, dangled from the truck's front bumper, then tore loose to be crushed into mangled strips beneath the wheels.

Amanda's shoes skidded on the polished tile before friction caught and threw her forward. She chased after Bishop with the truck howling behind them.

As Amanda and Bishop ran into the more populated area of the mall, screams replaced laughter as people scrambled to avoid the vehicle thundering down the halls.

Starting today, this novel is on sale!

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Sample Sunday: "Dead Links"
Sample Sunday: "Dead Links"

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May 99-Cent Sale: "Dead Links" [Promotion]

My May 99-Cent Sale has begun! Every week of May, I'll be lowering the price on one of my books to 99-cents, starting on Sunday. On the following Sunday, that book will return to its usual $2.99 price, and another book will go down. In addition, in case that's still not enough incentive, I'll be making the sample book free for the first two days. You can read the first part for free, and if you like it, it's only 99-cents for the full book.

Today's sale will be for my techno-thriller, Dead Links. It's only 99-cents, down from $2.99. If you still aren't convinced, you can download the first six chapters for free today and tomorrow.

Even if you're not planning to read them, you can still help me out. I would really appreciate it if you spread the word through social media. I've even written the copy for you: just cut and paste the following during the specific dates.

Twitter
5/5/13 - 5/11/13
Get the highly-rated thriller "Dead Links" by @nigelgmitchell for only #99cent, this week only http://ow.ly/kzqEe #indiepub Plz RT

Facebook/Google+
5/5/13 - 5/11/13
Nigel G. Mitchell is having a 99-cent sale! His techno-thriller novel "Dead Links" is only 99-cents from 5/5/13 - 5/11/13 at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009VPRCI8 You can download the first six chapters free from 5/5/13-5/6/13. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BNQ3CXC. Spread the word!

Next Sunday, I'll be dropping the price on TOONS: Book 1. Stay tooned...I mean, tuned.

Sample Sunday: "Dead Links"

Welcome to Sample Sunday, where we authors give you a taste of our work. Here's another excerpt from my technothriller, Dead Links.

For the moment, Araknee's secrets took a back seat in Amanda's mind to an even greater mystery. "Are those Crane supercomputers?"

Isabelle squinted through the glass. "Yeah, I think that's what someone said."

Amanda continued to stare in awe through the window at the computers tangled within a web of green and red wiring. What she saw seemed as out of place as a nuclear bomb in a child's toy box.

Amanda whispered, "What're they doing running a website?"

The muted roar of the fans inside the computer room seemed louder than all the chatter and movement in the main floor as Isabelle shrugged. "Nothing special, really. They're hooked up to the servers. You know what servers are, right?"

"Sure. That's a computer that don't do nothing else but sit around and send people files, like waiters of the Internet." She turned her gaze back onto the supercomputers humming in the next room. "But any computer could run a server, even my desktop at home. Supercomputers do billions of complex mathematical calculations every second. The government uses 'em to design new weapons or for decrypting classified information. And Crane supercomputers are top o' the line, the best of the best, most powerful computers on Earth. And you got ten of 'em. No way a server's workload could be strong enough to need that kinda power."

If you'd like to read the rest of it, you can get the full novel at the Amazon US Kindle Store or Amazon UK Kindle Store.

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Sample Sunday: "Dead Links"

Sample Sunday: "Dead Links"

Welcome to Sample Sunday, where we authors give you a taste of our work. Here's another excerpt from my technothriller, Dead Links.

Amanda swung her arms up to clutch the front of the man's shirt. Her attacker's eyes widened over the blood trickling down from his nose. Amanda braced him on her back as she lowered her stance to flip him over her. The throw sent him hurtling over her shoulder, down onto her coffee table. It collapsed beneath him with a thunder that made books topple off their shelves.

If you'd like to read the rest of it, you can get the full novel at the Amazon Kindle Store.

Sample Sunday: "Dead Links"

Welcome to Sample Sunday, where we authors give you a taste of our work. Here's another excerpt from my technothriller, Dead Links.

The two of them headed for one of the exits leading out to the parking lot. Through the glass doors, she could see that the sun had fallen until only a very dim light reflected off the cars parked outside. As Bishop reached the doors, lights flickered on to cast a yellow sphere of light onto the sidewalk out front. The doors chimed softly and mumbled as they slid open from Bishop's approach. The clamor of the outside rushed in, along with the sound of a truck's engine growing louder.

Bishop reached the open doors, but stumbled as he came to a sudden halt in the doorway. He whirled around towards Amanda again. His sunglasses had come off at some point in the chase, and his swollen eyes turned on her as he yelled, "Run!"

A black truck hurtled out of the darkness of the parking lot towards the mall, roaring like a lion from the savannah. Its tires shrieked as it spun to face the entrance. The truck's headlights burned like the eyes of a cat, and blinded Amanda as they aimed straight for her.

Amanda couldn't see through the red haze left in her eyes by the light, but felt Bishop's hands clutch hers and pull her away from the exit. Her sight cleared to see the doors slide open, but not quickly enough for the truck that plowed into them. The impact made the entire wall explode. Showers of glass burst out of the frames, dangled from the truck's front bumper, then tore loose to be crushed into mangled strips beneath the wheels.

Amanda's shoes skidded on the polished tile before friction caught and threw her forward. She chased after Bishop through the mall with the truck howling behind them.

If you'd like to read the rest of it, you can get the full novel at the Amazon Kindle Store.

Six Sentence Sunday: "Dead Links"

Today's Six Sentence Sunday comes from my technothriller, Dead Links. If you're not familiar with it, the idea is to post six sentences from a work in progress or published novel.

Get down," Amanda screamed, and didn't wait for Campbell to comply.

She grabbed his Hawaiian shirt by the collar and hauled him under the table. As he ducked, banging his head on the way down, Amanda knew from the angle of the waiter's arm that he aimed for Campbell. She had to draw the waiter's fire. Amanda yanked her legs out from under the table and pushed off to launch herself out of the booth in the opposite direction. 

If you'd like to read the rest of it, you can get the full novel at the Amazon Kindle Store.

Technothriller: "Dead Links" [Novel]

My first novel for Amazon Kindle is the technothriller, Dead Links. Here's a short summary:

The owners of popular websites are dying, and freelance journalist Amanda Katt wants to know why. Along the way, she discovers a horrifying secret about the most popular website on the Net: someone has found a way to make it more addictive than any drug. It can make people do anything, including kill. As her fiance' Lesley Grant falls under the website's spell, the only way to save him is to find the secret of its power. In the process, Amanda discovers a terrifying plot that could threaten the world.

It's available as an ebook that you can download it right now on the Amazon Kindle Store.